probably the major reason that Putumayo are successful is Dan Storper himself. His approach - he usually attends WOMEX - is hard-nosed and aggressive, bent on sales in the way a real saleman is maybe supposed to be. Like the Cohen who built Tescos, and all those guys. This marks him out as quite different from the vast majority of world music purveyers, who tend to be fairly laid back in their business transactions, as you might expect. Nothing wrong with it, but when he hits on you it feels you're on Wall Street all of a sudden. His previous experience in the rag trade (I think), led him to start using those outlets for the music. Smart.

coming in at a very late stage without reading all the posts is bordering on stupidity but that's years of reading newspapers from back to front for you.

as most of us will testify making a good compilation cd of music that defies any sort of criticism is extremely hard.

making a one to sell would be even harder and yet Putumayo consistently do it so well, lots of very good compilations, which appeal to lot's of different musical tastes and usually, introduce the listener to lots of delights for the first time.

I also like the covers ... in fact I was wondering can I get a book with them all in?

as Tom said in one of the later post's

I wish Dan continued success and long may Putumayo flourish!

my money has always been well spent on purchasing Putumayo CD's. ... and really .... that's all that really matters.... is n't it.

Coming soon to a pot pourri and scented candle emporium near you. Nothing inherently wrong with many of the selections here, but this is music as lifestyle choice and the truly inquisitive will find the best of this music by other means. Meanwhile these albums will sell by the bucket-load with some of the proceeds going to AIDS charities, so everyone's a winner. '

Almost spot on, except the bit about plebs trying to look intelligent (I think it's the wilfully eclectic that I was talking about) and the "oh bugger" bit at the end. I like it when everybody wins, especially victims of killer diseases.

I guess the problem I faced was squaring the circle of the internal contradiction articulated by Ian in his earlier post, ie:-

"I always feel embarrassed that on the whole Putumayo albums get unfavourable "And The Rest" reviews in fRoots"

and

"They are obviously not aimed at our readers"

and in so doing completely overstepped the mark, descending into smart-arsery and snobbery. PM me June and I'll send you the CDs - they clearly belong in a more deserving home.

PS I second the comments about Putumayo sleevenotes - they always seem well-written and informative (in contrast to the above review, you might well argue).